Ingredients for a happy ending
by lthedreamer
Summary: A series of small ficlets in the life of the expanding Swan-Mills family. Established SwanQueen. To submit prompt pm or contact me on tumblr
1. Thursdays

Thursdays were Regina's favourite day by far.

Thursdays were _her _day.

She woke up at the same time as normal; she would wake her son and her wife in the same way as every other day, with difficulty and bribery before going to her mayoral office as per every other weekday. However, come 5 o'clock, as soon as the usually insufferable town clock began to chime Regina's face would break out into a grin and she would stop whatever she was doing and race home in anticipation. Taking note to drive carefully of course, she was excited not reckless; Regina would stop at the newsagents to collect her package, actually taking time to smile a genuine smile at the cashier before arriving home as the clock chimed quarter past the hour.

_Silence._

Regina revelled in the sound that greeted her as she stepped into the foyer and pushed the door shut with her hip. _Nothing. _This was her greatest pleasure these days, a quiet home. It may appear absurd to any other person but to Regina, a woman who had been alone with only her thoughts for many years, this was familiarity, a tranquillity in her otherwise nonstop life.

Not that Regina wasn't happy, quite the opposite, she was breathtakingly, overwhelmingly happy and daily she thanked a higher power that she was given this chance at happiness. But good god sometimes the happiness was enough to drive her insane. Emma, _her _Emma with her annoyingly genuine concern and constant pandering to her every whim and need. Henry and his excited chatter, the way he slammed every single door in the house as he passed _sometimes twice, _the constant, heart-clenching laughter that was a result of their time together. It was lovely, it really truly was but sometimes Regina needed a moment just to _be_.

Then along came _Thursdays._

No one knew exactly what she did on a Thursday, it was somewhat of a mystery around the town and she immensely enjoyed knowing that despite her married status and despite the fact she was now '_on the side of good and righteousness' _as Snow nauseatingly put it that she could still rouse curiosity in her townspeople.

Initially the completely _uncharming _Charming's believed that on a Thursday she was having a torrid affair with an unknown suitor. Leroy drunkenly and rather brazenly asked her if she cooked meth on a Thursday before asking, if so, could he buy some off of her. Then there was Ruby, her now good friend Ruby, who managed to convince several people in the diner that on a Thursday she partook in online gambling to fuel her addiction to designer shoes and high class wines. It was highly amusing really.

Not even her family knew. Emma referred to Thursdays as her _dirty little secrets _and on numerous occasions suggested, with a wink and a smirk, that she had managed to get herself pregnant on a Thursday, despite the fact she knew that it was her _'_experimentation' otherwise known as _ineptitude _with magic that had resulted in the growing human currently residing directly on Regina's bladder.

Regina feared it would be quite the anti-climax and disappointment to those speculating over her activities if they truly knew what she did in the 5 hours she had to herself before Emma's evening shift in the Sheriff's office ended. Married life truly had changed her she thought to herself with a small smile.

As she walked to the kitchen Regina's left hand cradled the swell of her growing stomach thankful for the time being that this little one was content to be still, wondering whether when she was born Snow would have the baby over for the night aswell as Henry, as not to spoil her weekly treat. Smiling to herself Regina spotted a handwritten note on the worktop, _Emma, _her darling wife never failed to leave her a note somewhere when she knew Regina would be coming home to an empty home.

_Hey Babe,_

_Hope you had a good day in the office, by good I mean un-stressful and un-taxing because you know how I worry about you working so close to our due date. Don't get annoyed but I placed an order with Granny to drop your dinner off at 6:30, you need to rest and I can't be dealing with a grouchy Regina at 10pm because your feet hurt after cooking some fancy health conscious tasteless food. For once please just eat the takeout without moaning about arteries and getting fat. I know for a fact both you and our daughter love Granny's burgers._

_Have a fun evening, I love you both!_

_Em x_

_P.s don't eat all the apple pie I ordered myself one too_

_pps. Henry says he loves you too and something about you promising him a ps4 if he got out of bed. Can't tell if the little shit is lying._

_ppps. Sorry I called your food tasteless. You're a goddess in the kitchen but you get my point. Salad will always taste like salad. _

_pppps. Make sure your bit on the side is gone by 9.55 sharp, don't want to have to go all kung-foo-jealous-kick-ass-wife on their ass! Ha!_

'It's a good job you've got me little one' Regina said out loud with a caress of her bump feeling the baby shift slightly, 'your other mummy is a complete idiot, albeit a lovable one. As for your big brother, he might just be grounded for the rest of his life for lying so you probably won't see him much' she finished with a smirk, her voice light as her heart filled with warmth at the situation she found herself in.

An hour later, dressed in a pair of silk shorts and one of Emma's obnoxiously bright and large football shirts, the only thing in the house that was still loose on her frame, Regina made her way to settle on the couch with her takeout. When she had answered the door a moment ago she had to swallow her laughter at Granny's expression, whilst Emma referred to her as a 'hot mama' in this outfit she sometimes forgot others had yet to see her so casual, despite the fact Emma had recently blackmailed her into a pair of denim jeans. Turning on the television, an obscenely large contraption that her darling son, _the little shit_, had convinced her to buy after pretending to feel threatened by the new baby's arrival, she plugged in the password to their TV box and scanned her recordings, her _shameful_ secrets.

This was what she did on a Thursday; she watched the Kardashians and re-runs of Dog the bounty hunter. She found herself fascinated by trash television, enthralled by episodes of Storage Hunters and Ice-Road Truckers and she truly would die of embarrassment if anyone found out. If that wasn't bad enough she had recently been discovered by her wife trawling through the recent editions of Cosmopolitan and People magazine that she picked up every Thursday as if it were gospel. She almost reverted back to her Evil Queen moniker just to wipe that smirk of her blonde partner's lips.

'This will be our little secret wont it Princess?' Regina whispered to her bump as she took a very ungraceful, large bite of burger and pressed play on Keeping up with the Kardashians. She lay back against the cushions of the sofa with a content sigh, _yes; _this right here was worth all of the secrecy. 'Maybe we can watch shows like this when you're a teenager,' Regina spoke softly with a caress of her swollen stomach, 'though, really I'd prefer you to watch more factual programmes, maybe we can convince your momma that's what we are doing and then sneak in here after kicking her and Hen out of the house and do each other's nails...' she let her thoughts drift off as she half focused on the television, her mind more consumed on future days with her daughter, ones she had been deprived of by her own mother when growing up.

Emma slipped through the front door at 10:05pm reminding herself that she needed to be in '_ninja mode', _heaven forbid she slam the door like yesterday, Regina had created hell over that tiny bit of noise. As she passed through rooms she searched for her wife, eventually finding her in the den, the sight causing Emma to pause in the doorway. Lay out on the sofa, a blanket haphazardly spread over her torso, one leg on the floor was her beautiful wife surrounded by takeout containers and magazines. Snapping a picture on her phone Emma tiptoed over to the sleeping brunette, her fingers ghosting over the bump housing their growing daughter, she took this moment to scope out just what her love had spent her Thursday doing.

She smirked and barely held in a laugh when she noticed what was on her television, she knew that Regina couldn't possibly stomach all the documentaries she claimed to watch and now she knew she had a little secret love of reality television. She had two options, she could turn off the television and feign ignorance in order to tease Regina at a later date or she could claim her prize now by showing her hand. It was only as she stretched out that Emma became conscious of the small bruise on her hip caused by the shoe her wife had thrown at her mere days ago, a souvenir of the time she had the _audacity _to question Regina's shoe choice (But really were heels practical at 8 months pregnant?). The choice was obvious, _happy wife = happy life, _a pregnant and pissed of Regina was never going to be fun was it?

The Blonde chose instead to lean down and inhale her wife's scent, placing a lingering kiss against her forehead. The sleeping brunette stirred and her eyes fluttered open, 'Hi love,' she said softly as Emma placed a gentle hand on her bump sitting on the edge of the sofa by her wife's hip. 'I see your mystery woman has worn you out, hmmm?' Emma teased as she leant forward to capture waiting lips, 'It's a good job I'm not the jealous type.' Sitting up, which took an absolute age with her bump, Regina rolled her eyes, 'you know you have nothing to worry about, I just watched a David Attenborough documentary and had a nap it's your daughter that has me exhausted, besides, I saved you some apple pie, if that isn't love then I don't know what is'.

She missed the silent laugh that passed over Emma's features. She was too busy savouring the overwhelming love she felt, a result of being reunited with her other half after even mere hours. Regina loved Thursdays for many reasons but she _adored _her family infinitely more.


	2. Operation Baby Express

Regina lay propped up on a multitude of fluffy, luxurious pillows on top of the deluxe Queen she shared with her Sheriff crossing and uncrossing her ankles, letting out a disgruntled huff as she did so. She pushed herself up off of her elbows into a more comfortable position, rolling up the sleeve of her silk nightshirt to check on the watch, an odd accessory to wear in bed but one in which she refused to take off on the chance she would suddenly lapse into labour and have to rigorously time her contractions. It was an unlikely scenario; however, Regina needed to be prepared just in case.

2:36pm

That meant her daughter was over 38 hours overdue. Bloody Emma and her stupid unpunctual genes Regina thought with a frown, their baby wasn't even out of the womb yet and already she was showing signs of Emma's bad habits. As she cradled her bump she softly rubbed patterns across the rippled surface, 'Come on Baby, please make an appearance soon for your mommas, we really want to see you and I really want to sleep on my stomach again', Regina hardly noticed the soft lilt her voice adopted whenever she spoke to their unborn child, she could hardly comprehend the love she felt for a child she had yet to meet.

It was as if all her feelings she had discovered when she adopted Henry had increased tenfold. Henry was perfectly formed when she was given him, all she had to do was love him and feed him which was easy in comparison to this, ensuring her daughter was safe and getting everything she needed to grow. It had been a long, long eight months since she had discovered, after her wife's magical mishap, that they had created a baby and Regina had done everything to the letter, anti natal classes, vitamins, exercises, she ate everything she had been advised and trawled every bookstore for literature. She was ready. Emma was ready. Henry was ready. All they needed now was for their little princess to be ready and then their little family would be together.

Suddenly, or as suddenly as a 9 month pregnant woman could, she sat up straight in the bed, her face contorting in panic. How on earth could she have been so stupid to overlook this one _major _thing?

'Emmmmmmmmmaaaaaaa', Regina called out making her voice heard throughout the house, 'Henry, emergency family meeting NOW'. In mere seconds she heard heavy footsteps as her brown haired boy came rushing into the room shortly followed by his mother, who crashed into the doorframe with an almighty thud. One of Emma's arms was thrown in her jacket her other was clutching the large, designer of course, hospital bag that had been packed for weeks.

'Okay Henry, you know the drill, ring your grandparents, I'll get your mother, open the garage and ring ahead to the hospital, check the doors are locked and ill meet you in the Benz in five, we can do this,' the blonde turned to her wife who had opened her mouth to speak and smiled, 'we can do this Regina, don't panic, we've been practising for weeks, you let us do the work, save your energy for the hospital'. With a whoop Henry ran out of the room to ring Snow leaving Regina to stare incredulously at her wife who was pacing back and forth throwing clothes in the brunette's direction.

'Darling, can you please stop, I only wanted a word with you both,' Regina sighed, finally able to get a word in, 'You would know by the screaming and the frantic arm gestures if I were in labour trust me'. Emma still wasn't listening at this point, she turned to Regina, arms extended to help her up onto her feet, confusion etched onto her face when she realised her wife wasn't making any attempt to move.

'Baby, look at me,' Regina spoke softly, as if to a child, 'I'm not in labour, our baby isn't coming, she is still content where she is, now I suggest you go an soothe our over excited teenager, calm your undoubtedly panicked mother and then the both of you _lovable idiots_ come back here and I can have the discussion with you I had initially planned.'

The Blonde stood dumbfounded, her mouth hanging agape as she stared at her wife. 'You..You're not?' she stuttered incomprehensibly, her behaviour akin to a goldfish's, Regina simply nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. She waved her hand slightly, encouraging Emma to resume her task at hand, calming hurricane Henry and hurricane Snow. She closed her eyes as she heard the footsteps fall away, her family truly would be the death of her she thought with a sigh.

15 minutes later Regina opened her eyes, realising to her surprise that she must've fallen asleep but the footsteps returning to her room, although much calmer and quieter than before, had roused her from her slumber. Her face broke into a large grin as she saw the two members of 'Operation Baby Express' enter the room wearing identical expressions of disappointment, embarrassment and apprehension, both equally sure they were about to be lectured for jumping the gun. Quickly, Regina, pretending to be annoyed, frowned at her family, 'Sit,' she said pointing to the side of the bed she wasn't occupying, she fought the urge to laugh as she watched them both sit crossed legged and look to her expectantly. How she ever denied Emma was Henry's mother was beyond her, they were identical in mannerisms, whilst that would've made her scowl in the past, now it made her heart soar.

'Darlings, the little one and I are very sorry for worrying you but it came to my attention we had forgotten something that we will need for when the baby is born,' Regina forgo the mock telling off she was planning as soon as she saw the identical set of puppy dog eyes in front of her, 'However, you both need to calm down, _a lot, _you can't go ringing Snow every two minutes telling her the baby is coming, and you,' she turned to Emma, her finger pointing towards her accusingly, 'should know better, out of all of us you are the most prepared, you have done this before, you know the baby will come when she is ready and not before, what happens if I shout because I want a drink, are you both going to bundle me into the Merc?' she stared at her family, imploring them to speak, her hands cupping her bump for support.

'We just got excited mom,' Henry said softly, 'we both really want her to come already, I'm sorry we over reacted.' He reached across and held his brunette mother's hand, softly touching her bump. Regina sighed and relaxed slightly as she felt her wife move to sit behind her, urging her to lean back into her embrace as she placed a kiss to her cheek. 'Sorry Gina,' Emma spoke, 'you just sounded so worried and I panicked, I've only ever been the one giving birth, I felt a little helpless and did the only thing I could think of.' The blonde blushed slightly at her admittance of her fears, without realising she had moved her hand to join her wife and their son's hand on the bump, the only barrier between them and the last member of their family. The three Swan-Mills' sat in silence for a moment each dreaming of the future days to come until Henry broke the silence, asking his mom with a little apprehension, 'What did you shout for anyway mom?'

Regina looked up, remembering her initial panic which had been forgotten in the excitement, her face drained slightly of colour and her voice was borderline teary as she spoke, 'we forgot the booties, she doesn't have any winter booties and we don't have a hat for her.' She dabbed at her eyes as she spoke, shame washing her features as she fretted over her failings as a mother even before her baby was here.

Suddenly, there was laughter all around her, the bed shaking as two bodies became racked with giggles. How _dare _they laugh at her? Did they not realise that this was serious? How could she raise a child with these two _idiots_ as her help? Christ, Snow would be more use than this with her insufferable kumbaya approach to parenting. 'Are you two seriously _laughing at me?!' _she shrilled, her voice raising several octaves, 'I'm so glad you find your _sister's _and your _daughter's _wellbeing so amusing,' sarcasm laced her speech as her neck craned to scowl at both occupants of her bed.

She felt several kisses against her cheeks and forehead and then finally her lips as she squirmed to get away; there was no way Emma could _cutesy_ her way out of this.

'Oh Gina,' Emma giggled as Henry smirked at his elder mother, 'its July, even our baby will make an appearance before winter, we have plenty of time to shop for winter clothes, _silly.' _

As they both rose to exit the bedroom Henry turned to face Regina, still sat on the bed, her face now akin to Emma's previous goldfish impersonation, 'Shout me when you actually go into labour mom, not when your baby-brain decides to implode once again,' he shook his head in amusement, 'you women.' He said with a huff, following the blonde into the hallway.

That evening everyone in the house prayed that their new family member made an appearance soon, each for _very _different reasons.


	3. Coming home

'Wake up sleepy head,' Emma Swan-Mills said softly, her hand cupping her heavily pregnant wife's cheek as she let her thumb trace over plump red lips that were parted slightly in sleep. When all she received was a mumbled, 'go away I'm sleeping,' she swallowed a laugh and started kissing the brunette on every possible spot of skin on either cheek before lightly kissing her lips. 'Come on Grumpy I need you to get up, I have something really important to share with you,'

With a swift swat to the blonde's bicep Regina opened her eyes and sat up slightly, frowning the whole time at her wife who wore a smirk on her lips. 'I'll have you know Sheriff that I take offense to being likened to Leroy, I much prefer the names you were calling me last night.' The brunette smirked up into hazel eyes and placed a wet kiss against the neck she was cradled into, 'What was it? Hmm, My Queen, the best fuck I've ever had or, how about my personal favourite, wonder-tits-mcfuckable.' Whilst Emma laughed she at least had the decency to allow a blush to colour her cheeks as she cradled her wife, 'What can I say, I wanted our first anniversary to be memorable,' She let her wife entwine her hands and bring them to rest on her baby bump below the covers, with a quick kiss to waiting lips, Regina smiled and responded, 'With the impending arrival I doubt our first year will be easily forgotten.'

Moments later as Emma was helping her wife to her feet, her eyes roamed over the brunette's changing shape lingering over her ample cleavage and the hard little nipples that strained against the now obscenely tight satin night shirt. 'God I wish you could be pregnant forever,' at the arching of one sculpted eyebrow Emma continued her words, 'I mean, these,' two skilled hands caressed and cupped Regina's breasts as two thumbs skimmed over pebbled nipples, 'were magnificent before, but now, Christ they're amazing.'

Regina felt a low, dirty chuckle leave her body as she rocked slightly into Emma's touch, 'As much as I enjoy _this _I am aware that we are heading down the same path we travelled last night and I'm sure you had something to show me?' With a lingering kiss to each nipple, wetting the satin, Emma released her queen before placing a guiding hand on the small of her back and leading her from the room.

Slowly walking through the upper level of the house Emma led Regina to the doorway directly across from the master suite, they had both decided that this was to be their nursery. Shortly after the 20 week point, when the couple had discovered they were carrying a girl, Emma had banned her wife from entering the room, she claimed that Regina could provide their child a home in the womb and she would be in charge of sorting out her home for out of the womb. Whilst Regina would admit the whole notion behind it was incredibly sweet she was also very aware of her wife's clumsiness, her lack of attention to detail and the fact that once, when charged with painting the downstairs bathroom she had chosen a _mustard_ coloured paint. It wasn't that she was lacking in faith it was just that she was a classic perfectionist; whilst her wife was the perfect balance to her she probably wasn't the perfect interior designer.

As Emma swung open the nursery door she ushered the brunette inside before stepping back, allowing her wife to assess her surroundings. Regina stepped gingerly into the centre of the room, propping her hands on her stomach as she felt their daughter press against her skin. The walls were painted all light sky blue apart from one, which was a vibrant forest green. A forest scene decorated the green wall showing high trees, flowers and then just beyond the crib a large castle was painted. The nursery furniture was white, the style they had jointly selected, made of thick wood and Regina took the moment to study the nursing chair sat by the window, the changing table and all the storage her wife had known to include. It was the crib that was the most remarkable in the room, surrounded by a white veil of fabric and a horse mobile hung above to lull their child to sleep. Regina realised then that she hadn't truly pictured what she wanted the room to look like but, without a doubt, this was perfect.

Emma shifted nervously on the balls of her feet, wiping her palms against her legs, her wife had been silent for _uncharacteristically _too long, she truly doubted her own knowledge of what Regina would want for their child in that moment. 'We still have time to redecorate if you hate it Regina, I just thought you would understand my thoughts behind this.' She closed her eyes as she began to mentally scold herself for this choice, clearly her wife wouldn't want to be reminded of the past, god she was an idiot!

Just as she was about to combust she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and felt the swell of her wife's stomach press against her back as soft breath tickled against her ear. 'I get it, my love, I get it.' Soft lips pressed against her neck, 'You painted fairytale land because you want our daughter to know the path her mothers have travelled, how she came to be here. You're giving our child the best of my land, because, although this is her home, she should know where her family came from. The castle on the wall is to remind her, to remind us, that she too is a _princess _and that the mural on the wall is our heritage.' Strong hands spun the blonde around to entrap her against a warm body. 'It is utterly perfect and I am so sorry I ever made you doubt that it would be.'

Regina brought their lips together softly, caressing along her wife's jaw with her fingertips as she brought their foreheads to rest together. 'I love you,' Emma whispered reverently, her breathe ghosting her wife's lips, 'I love you too,' was the automatic reply as the two women stood together, each revelling in the possibilities of their future together. As they both took in their surroundings once more they could both feel their daughter kick and wriggle inside the brunette, it seemed their little girl felt just as home here as they did.

_**ANote: pure fluff but hey, it's too addictive to write these two women in a loved up bubble. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed so far, it truly makes me grin whenever i get an email notification. Updates probably won't be this frequent in the future but as it is I'm currently awaiting the start date of a new job and so have some time on my hands. Hope you continue to enjoy and read this story - L**_


	4. Danielle

**This Chapter doesnt follow on from the previous, all chapters will be of the same universe but the timeline may not be linear, I write these ficlets as they come to me. Hope this isnt too confusing - L**

'This is ridiculous' Regina huffed as she leant into her blonde wife sat next to her on the sofa, her dark haired son lay flat across the floor of the family room and at his mother's exhale he turned to face them both.

'We have two months to pick a name for her Mom, stop worrying about it,' he knew his reassurances where fruitless, ever since they had discovered a few weeks earlier that the new member of the Swan-Mills family was to be a little girl Regina had been on a one woman mission to find the perfect name. Henry clambered to his feet and took the seat opposite his parents, in a high arm chair, with an expression that was older than his years he looked between the blonde and the brunette with a high level of seriousness. 'We just need to think about this logically, all you're doing is reading baby books, think about it, why did you name me Henry?'

Emma looked to her wife, knowing this was her story to tell and watched as she explained that she chose Henry because at that time her Father's death still pained her deeply everyday and whilst her young son wasn't a replacement he did remind her of him every single day in his mannerisms and beliefs. Henry smiled knowledgably at his eldest mom before speaking, 'exactly, you need to name my sister for similar reasons, that way you know she will be as special to you both as her namesake was.'

The two wives considered this suggestion for a moment before the blonde began to speak, 'Before I suggest we name her after my mother,' to which she received a scornful look and a scoff, 'We can't very well name her after your mother either.' Whilst she did love Cora, Regina had to admit she didn't have the character traits she wished her own child to possess, that being said, over her dead body was her daughter being named after a _snowflake_.

Watching his mothers with an expression torn between humour and exasperation Henry sighed audibly and muttered, 'must I do everything myself'. He coughed to gain the two women's attention and once again began to explain in a patient voice, 'I was thinking we could call her Danielle, Elle for short, you know after...' he let his words die out, 'That's the whole point isn't it, to name her after someone loved who isn't with us anymore.'

With an audible '_oh,'_ Regina turned her face into the crook of her wife's neck, not wanting her son to see just how much his words had affected her. Upon feeling warm tears against her skin Emma knew that they had found a name for their baby and mouthed a silent 'thank you' towards her son who was looking a bit sheepish at causing this level of emotion in his parents.

Later that night after her wife and her son had fallen asleep Regina let her hand rest softly against her bump and allowed her thoughts to wander to Daniel, remembering his face and the security and warmth he still evoked within her. Whispering, as not to wake the blonde draped across her side, she spoke, 'Elle, I hope you have the compassion and the faith that your namesake had, I know he would be happy that I have finally allowed myself happiness again after so long.'


	5. 4th of July

Emma Swan-Mills clumsily threw the bundle of foil wrapped potatoes onto the fire pit cursing under her breath as the heat assaulted her fingers. She glanced around sheepishly to check that none of her family was watching; she had already embarrassed herself enough for one holiday. She leisurely ran her hand through her wavy blonde hair, now much shorter and cut just below her shoulders, before turning back to the barbeque pit, the fourth of July food cooking perfectly. The blonde's breath caught in her throat as a gasp when she realised she was face to face with her wife who stood mere inches in front of her, after 5 years of marriage the brunette's ability to sneak up on Emma was just as strong as ever.

'Hey Babe,' Emma placed her hand on her wife's hip, squeezing gently as she returned back to turning the ribs on the flames. She turned back to Regina, a smile playing on her lips as she looked her up and down, lingering on certain parts of the brunette's form for _entirely _too long to be deemed proper. In Emma's defence she couldn't help it, her wife was sensational in any outfit (even more so when she _wasn't _dressed in anything) however, in the outfit she stood in now, a pair of small white denim shorts and a red bikini top over which a blue camisole was layered she looked outright _delicious. _Regina claimed it was a patriotic choice, fitting for the all-American day, Emma, who had stared incredulously as she had watched her wife dress that morning (then re dress after a quick and impromptu _undressing) _claimed the outfit was wholly _distracting._

'Good god Regina you look amazing' she placed a lingering kiss against her wife's neck as she pulled her body closer to her by the belt loops on those tiny, teasing shorts. She felt the chuckle vibrate through the brunette as she turned to face her, wrapping her arms around the blonde's shoulders before leaning in for a soft kiss.

Regina felt Emma's tongue sweep once across her bottom lip before she, without hesitation, opened her month to allow her wife access. Their tongues battled slightly for dominance although their pace was almost leisurely, they knew this dance well. With a gentle, teasing bite on her love's bottom lip Regina pulled back, her fingers never leaving their position at the base of the blonde's neck.

'I always look amazing in your eyes Darling,' she grazed her finger across a parted bottom lip, her eyes fluttering shut as she felt skilled fingers massage the globes of her ass, as she bit her bottom lip between her teeth she slowly opened her eyes to meet ones which waggled in a suggestive manner. 'You need to behave my love, we can't have you getting distracted and burning everything, I saw your little juggling act with the potatoes before.' Brown eyes winked and a small laugh came from the blonde. 'Anyway, I'm sure I don't need to remind you that your parents, your brother and our charmingly impressionable daughter are mere metres away, we don't want to cause poor Elle the same damage we caused Henry when he found us together in my office now do we?'

The two women's gazed upon each other for a while longer before stepping apart, almost lost again in their own little bubble. It was then they heard a high pitched little voice call, 'Momma, Mommy I'm hungry' and then a pair of tiny little hands were grasping at their legs as their young daughter demanded attention, her face matching the pout that often graced her brunette mother's features. Strong arms bent to scoop the small girl up between her parents as Regina brushed unruly sandy curls from Elle's face.

'Dinner won't be long little one,' Regina promised, 'we're just waiting on your Momma to stop getting distracted.' Plump lips curled upwards in a smirk. 'But I'm absolutely ravenous now,' was the over exaggerated reply, their daughter clearly inheriting both her parent's dramatic flair. With a flick of her wrist Regina extended her palm outwards to where, in a poof of silver smoke, a shiny red apple had appeared. She offered the piece of fruit towards the _ravenous _child as a compromise, her face contorting into confusion when Elle shook her head, normally apples were her favourite, something she thankfully eat on a near daily basis.

Emma too glanced upon their child with confusion as she wondered what had happened in the past 24 hours, scientifically it was speculated that children's palettes evolved at the age of 7 in a continuous cycle, their daughter was only 4 so this was simply strange. 'You don't want an apple princess?' she asked the child attached to her hip, when she shook her head again, _no, _Emma set her down on the floor before asking 'I thought they were your favourite?'

The little girl looked up at her moms, her eyes wide as she began to speak, her words becoming jumbled as she spoke faster and faster. 'Grandma Snowflake said that I shouldn't eat apples even though they are my favourite she said that Mommy puts things in them like boys cooties and worms and snails and that once when she was a little girl just like me mommy gave her a red shiny apple just like I eat and it made her sleep for a very long time and during that time mommy redecorated the entire world and painted everything dark and well I don't want to sleep more than you make me sleep and I like my pink bedroom as it is and can I have chocolate instead?' She gasped for air as she finished her tale, wiping her brow theatrically as she waited for someone to speak. Her little face scrunched up in concentration as she noticed her Mommy turn to her Momma and hiss, 'Your bloody mother and her big mouth, this little joke has gone one step too far, I'm going to bloody kill her for good this time!'

Before the blonde could respond, either to offer comfort or to scold her wife for uttering the B-word in front of their daughter who ingested new words like a sponge, she had turned and was currently marching over to Snow, sat at the patio set wearing a facial expression akin to a rabbit caught in the head lights. 'Uh-oh,' both Emma and her mini me uttered in unison unable to take their eyes off of the scene which was surely about to unfold.

'Regina, I...'

'Save it Snowflake, you've gone too far this time, this was meant to be a harmless game of one upmanship then I found out you've convinced my daughter that I am about to _poison _her, are you out of your bloody mind?!'

Snow swallowed noisily, silently praying the boys would hurry back outside and distract Regina before she killed her, 'It was a joke, I thought it was funny...' she offered meekly as an excuse to which the Mayor scoffed '_A joke? _My god you really are delusional.'

To hell with niceties Snow thought as she stood to meet Regina on eye level, 'You taught my only Granddaughter to call me _Grandma Snowflake, _you know I hate the sarcastic way you always do that and now our perfect little Elle is copying you, she even has that insufferable smirk of yours on her face when she says it.'

With a snarky laugh Regina rolled her eyes before retorting, 'You told _My _daughter that she inherited her looks from you because _you're the fairest of them all.'_

'Well you convinced Neal to snort like a pig whenever Charming entered the room so that he would feel more at home after growing up on a farm.'

At this admission Regina laughed a full belly laugh out loud, 'You must admit Snow, that was a stroke of genius on my part.' When all she received was a glare she continued to talk, 'You were still out of line to ruin Elle's family tree project by telling her I used to be your mother before I married her mom at which point you became my mother, that's confusing enough for all of us let alone a 4 year old'

The two brunettes stood facing each other in silence, both too stubborn to apologize but both realising that they were acting like children. After what seemed like an age Regina rolled her shoulders and questioned 'Truce?' With a nod of her head, Snow smiled, 'Deal'. Had this occurred in years previously the two women would've been in a stalemate for months, however, it was due to the love they shared for _their _family that they had both managed to leave past grievances behind. It had taken some time to get to this stage and even now occasionally they both would push the others buttons, for old times' sake.

As the boys came out to the garden, unconsciously sensing that dinner must be cooked, each member of the Swan-Mills-Charming family froze in surprise as a small little voice called out 'Can we _bloody _eat now, I am absolutely ravenous _still!'_


	6. Honey, I lost the children

Emma Swan-Mills rolled over in her bed, arms stretched out through the ridiculously high Egyptian thread cotton to the space in which she should find her wife. However, the mattress was cold against her fingertips and instead of the welcoming arms of her love she grasped at a piece of parchment. At the crinkling of paper she opened her eyes somewhat groggily in confusion, letting them adjust to the light, the room shouldn't be this bright at 7am. As Emma wiped the back of her hand across her sleep filled eyes she turned to check the clock on the bedside table: 10:52, well that was interesting. The blonde sat up against the pillows, stretching out in luxury as she eyed the words _Sheriff Swan-Mills _in her wife's elegant cursive written on the folded letter. With a wry smile at Regina's choice of words she unfolded the note and began to read;

_Are you sure you are Snow White's and not Sleeping Beauty's daughter? _

_Although I will deny this profusely if you ever mention it to anyone, you looked too adorable in your sleep to wake you before I went to work. I've fed Elle and left some bottles in the fridge for her, Henry needs to do his science project today – don't let him talk you into doing something else! I know what you're like, one look into his puppy dog eyes and you'll cave._

_As a reward for all your good behaviour lately ;) I have arranged for your mother to have the children tonight (I suppose she is good for something...) I thought we could have a date night; I miss my charmingly annoying wife._

_See you at four, _

_R _

_P.s I love you_

Emma's heart luxuriated in the love she felt for the brunette that was so frequently on her mind and found herself praying for 4pm to hurry up. Regina had returned to work a few weeks ago at the end of her maternity leave which meant that Emma had picked up the evening shift at the Sheriff's station in order to minimise the amount of time they spent apart from their children. The long working hours coupled with an infant and young teenager meant that the two women were exhausted and sometimes passed like ships in the night. Emma loved her life and as sickening as it sounded she truly had become blessed, however, she would give anything to spend the night in her wife's company and come home to a quiet house which they could fill with moans that didn't have to be smothered by lips or a pillow. Date night sounded _delightful._

Emma was drawn back to the present by the utter silence of her home, this was _unusual _and she wondered why Elle wasn't crying for attention, she was due her second bottle by now. Rising to her feet, her muscles aching slightly as they woke up, Emma made her way to the nursery. 'Good morning Momma's little bug,' the blonde sung as she opened the door and walked over to the crib. She leant down over the side bar and was expecting to see a pair of hazel eyes and chubby little hands grasping the air, however, an empty bed was the last thing she had imagined.

'Shit,' the blonde cursed, the word feeling foreign on her tongue after weeks of pg-13 vocabulary around their daughter. Emma dropped to her knees checking under the crib and all around the room on the off chance Elle had managed to get herself there. As a last resort, due to the panic rising in her chest, she opened the door to the oak wardrobe in the corner of the room, she was half expecting her daughter to be lurking there, after all it wasn't unknown to put babies there in her family.

'Shit shit shit, Regina is going to kill me,' Emma said out loud, rushing towards Henry's bedroom at the other end of the hallway. As she flung open the doorway she called out, 'Kid, I lost your sister, I need your help, come on,' yet again to her surprise she found her other child's bed empty.

Eyes bulging slightly in her head, Emma spun on her heels, clattering downstairs at an almighty speed. In her head several scenarios raced through her mind at what her lovely, passionate and _bloody terrifying _wife would do to her when she realised she had overslept massively and misplaced the two children she loved more than life itself. As she raced into the family room the blonde froze in relief as there, on the couch, was her answer.

Henry was sat, still in his pyjamas, on the couch, knees propped up and a sleepy Elle resting against him suckling on her bottle of milk. On the television in front of them Emma saw, much to her amusement, the Disney version of Snow White and for a moment she imagined the annoyance that would cause Regina. It appeared that her presence was not yet known to the dark haired boy as he bounced his sister softly on his knees; Elle on the other hand had spotted her blonde mother immediately and was gurgling quite happily in response.

'Shh Ellie, remember what I told you, Mom wanted me to look after you this morning so Ma could get some rest, that means you need to be quiet,' he spoke softly as he rocked the sandy haired baby softly, 'Look, there's gram and grandpa on the TV.'

Unable to hide her presence anymore for fear of bursting with pride, Emma walked quietly over to the sofa before kissing each of her children on the top of their heads. She sat next to them and smiled as Henry said 'Morning Ma.' Taking the baby from his arms, Emma swallowed all the things she wanted to say as she knew they would embarrass her son, so precariously close to reaching the awkward teenage stage. Instead, she settled on ruffling his hair, infinitely relieved she didn't have to explain losing the children to Regina. As she settled back to watch the film, a secret favourite of hers, she turned to her son and said, 'Instead of operation science project today how about we work on operation pizza for lunch and Mario kart day?'

Regina was right, she was a total pushover.


	7. Birthday Girl

The little girl made an overexagerated shushing motion with her hands as she looked over her shoulder towards her blonde mother. At the soft incline of her head, Elle tiptoed (rather noisily) forward towards the bed, the rose she was carrying in her hand swinging merrily at her side, with an energetic and entirely ungraceful bound she threw herself, non too gently, directly onto the covered mound underneath the covers.

As she heard a surprised 'umph,' emerged muffled, Emma tutted slightly and fixed her gaze on her young daughter, 'Danielle,' at the utterance of her formal title, the little girl turned with a sheepish expression on her face, 'You know that wasnt part of the plan young lady, your mom won't be happy being jumped on like that.'

At the slight scolding, Regina decided for once to play good cop, as she had known of her daughter and her wife's approach the moment they started up the stairs like a small heard of elephants. She lifted the covers to the bed slightly, shifting her weight on the mattress so that the small girl fell onto her back with a high pitched squeal. Arms encircled her tiny body as the duvet fell on top of them both before manicured nails began to tickle at the excitable girl's sides. 'Are you going to say sorry to Mommy?' Regina whispered in between tickles, the darkness of the under the cover game making her daughter even more giggly. In between peals of laughter Elle conceeded with a chocked out sorry before wrapping herself around her brunette mother's hips in a tight embrace.

Emma watched the shapes under the cover thrash about before settling into silence, when it appeared that their daughter had calmed sufficiently, she spoke to her hidden audience, 'Do I get my moment with the queen now?' In mere seconds, a head popped up from under the duvet, usually coiffed hair mused from sleep, an adorable pout on kissable lips. 'Morning birthday girl,' Emma greeted, walking towards the bed with a tray of breakfast food in her hand, which she set on the bedside table. Kneeling to pick up the discarded rose on the floor, she lent over to kiss her wife softly on the lips before handing the flower to her, with a shy smile she explained, 'All your gifts are in the family room, Elle wanted to make you breakfast in bed though.'

At the mention of her name, the sandy haired little girl emerged with a large smile as she settled herself in her Mom's lap, 'Happy birfdee Mommy,' she lisped and smirked at her blonde mother, knowing already that she had been forgiven for her over exuberance earlier. Emma smiled directly back, once again being floored by how alike the two other females she shared her home with were, the knowing looks and pointed smirks where a trait already inherited from Regina at only 5 years old. She also knew that it was incredibly lucky Elle had agreed to enter the bedroom first, waking Regina early on her Sunday lie in was more dangerous than waking a sleeping dragon, however, her wife could never stay mad at their daughter for long, unlike the grudges she managed to hold over the blonde for periods that seemed endless.

Sitting herself on the edge of the bed next to her family, Emma passed a champagne flute towards her wife with a smile. She received a quirked eyebrow in response as the brunette took a sip, 'Mimosa's at 8am, anyone would think you plan to get me drunk.' That wasn't the case entirely, it was just that in the 6 years that spanned their relationship they had never actually spent Regina's birthday together. The first year Regina had been in hospital with pregnancy complications, the 2nd was when Elle had severe Colic, for their third birthday together Emma had gotten trapped in a wishing well rescuing a cat. From then on the reasons became even more ridiculous, that was why this year, after a Royal hissy fit from the Queen, Emma had booked the entire week off work and refused to leave her wife's side, should any accidents try and separate them.

This year was a special occasion more so than all previous birthdays too, she had found out,not directly from Regina, but from Snow, that this would be Regina's 68th birthday( 40th if you discounted the curse). In the modern world this would not be a note worthy age as such, however, in fairytale land the 68th birthday would mark the transition period in the monarchy, a day in which the monarch would spend solely with her heirs, signifying the unity of the generations. Traditionally, the monarch would abdicate in their 69th year to make room for their heir. At first Emma thought this all amusing, Regina here was only Queen of their home (Of which she ruled with precision and dedication), however, she realised that to her wife, tradition had always been something to heed.

Regina glanced at the tray on her bedside table, counting the glasses with confusion, 'how many have you had darling?' she teased 'there are three glasses here, and unless your going to ply our 5 year old with alcohol, i think you miss counted.'

'One's for grandma snowflake,' Elle deadpanned, eyeing her mother's seriously before bursting into giggles, her eyes fixated toward the doorway. Noticing what had stolen her daughter's attention, she turned towards the door to be faced with a sight she truly hadn't expected.

'Hi Mom,' came a deep voice as Regina threw herself out of the bed, almost knocking her wife over in the process. She wrapped her arms around her son in seconds, clinging to him tightly, Henry, still clutching his duffel, smiled at the blonde, still sat with her daughter before saying, 'Happy birthday.' to the form still clinging to his side.

Taking a moment to recover, Regina looked quickly between her wife, who now sat with Elle on her lap, and her son, wondering which one to question first. She decided she was more likely to get straightforward answers from the boy, no, man and touched his cheek softly before asking, 'I thought you were at Brown, I wasn't expecting to see your face until christmas?'

Henry smiled, for once enjoying confusing his mother, 'I was told this was a special birthday and I thought we should all be here to celebrate as a family,' at this his mother hugged him tightly again, ' Besides, I ran out of clean washing.' To which he received a soft punch on the arm from Emma, who had stood at this moment, Elle at her hip.

Sensing her wife's presence, Regina turned and flashed a 100 watt smile her way, for the first time realising the effort she must've gone through. With a slow smile, Emma gasped her hand and leant in whispering, 'I figured you should have all your heirs close to you today your majesty, however, tonight it will be my turn to show my everlasting loyalty to the queen.'


	8. The makings of a country song

Emma loathed country music with a passion; there were very few country songs that she could even tolerate. The melody, the voices, the instruments, they all grated on her no end. It wasn't often that Emma found something which she truly disliked to this extreme, she was pretty sure that she could stomach another stint in prison before she would willingly listen to the genre, but then again, that might be slightly over exaggerating. Much to the blonde's chagrin, shortly after moving in with her girlfriend, now wife, she found that the Mayor's iPod was filled to the brim with that _horrid_ music. She had such a varied selection, from vintage with Johnny Cash to the more country pop of recent years with Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley as well as her personal favourite Miranda Lambert. Emma had tried and tried to educate her wife on music and update her music preferences to something a bit more _'cool'_. But it was futile; a complete waste of energy.

Several years into the marriage now, Emma had grown accustomed to her love's fondness and wasted no time moaning further, they had a terse agreement that Emma wouldn't comment on the songs Regina frequently hummed and Regina wouldn't berate Emma for listening to music that was '_several decibels above healthy_'. It worked. That was until Emma arrived home early from work one evening unannounced when Regina was looking after Danielle. As she opened the front door, quietly, after years of training, she was hit by a wall of sound, the guitar strumming alerting her to the unmistakable beginning of a country beat. _Joy._

The blonde dropped her bags to the floor and went to greet her wife (and encourage some pleasant radio silence), following the music she found her two dark haired girls in den and she froze on the spot. She could've almost sworn she was seeing double, had it not been for the severe height difference between mother and daughter. In front of her, seemingly oblivious to anything but each other and the music were her two girls in identical outfits, red checked flannel shirts, a flared denim skirt and tan country boots. She had to blink several times just to be sure she was seeing correctly, she knew every item in her daughter's closet and well, anybody who had been in Regina's company for more than a minute would know that this was not her usual haute couture. Her jaw dropped completely as two voices began to sing, one decidedly cute and high pitched:

_I cut my bangs with some rusty kitchen scissors,_

_I screamed his name 'til the neighbours called the cops._

_I numbed the pain at the expense of my liver_

_Don't know what I did next, all I know I couldn't stop._

As both females shook their hair as the sung together, Emma was jolted from her shock as she became astutely aware of the fact that that was her tiny little daughter singing those highly inappropriate lyrics and _oh god_. 'Really Regina?' Emma exclaimed, announcing her presence rather abruptly and smirked as her wife turned swiftly, this time her face showing the distinct signs of shock.

Luckily she was saved from having to explain herself, at least for now by their daughter who rushed forward to give the blonde a hug around her kneecaps. 'Momma, Momma, come watch me and Mommy perform,' Danielle called out in her shrill little voice, tugging her other mother by the hand to the sofa, pushing her onto the cushions with a push.

'Darling,' Regina walked forward, placing a gentle hand on her daughters head, 'Momma has just gotten home, you go upstairs and get changed whilst we have a little talk, okay?' With a short huff of irritation, a trait undoubtedly picked up from her elder mother, the small girl left the room and stomped up the stairs as the Mayor sat next to her wife with a sheepish little smile. 'Hi Sweetheart,' she said softly, fluttering her eyelashes as she tried to make the blonde soften the death stare she was giving her at the moment, 'Have you had a good day, you're home early?'

Completely ignoring her wife as she was well accustomed to her tactics this far into their relationship Emma began her questioning, 'Want to tell me why our baby girl is dressed like she's off for a hoe down?' she looked into her wife's big brown eyes, 'Better yet, why are you dressed like that too?' Regina smiled slightly, 'We are doing a dress rehearsal.' She retorted, as if that suddenly explained everything, at her wife's confused expression she continued, 'Elle and I are entering the mother daughter talent show.'

Emma dreaded where this was leading, 'With what talent?' she hesitantly asked, already knowing the answer by the coy little look on the brunettes face. 'We are going to perform a country medley.'

'Over my dead body am I letting our daughter up on stage to sing about break ups and excessive drinking.'

With a frown and a scoff of 'Well that can be arranged Love.' Regina called her daughter down the stairs and looked over her shoulder at the blonde, 'I suggest you but that lovely smile on your face and grin and bear it, your daughter has been so excited about showing you all day so don't even think of disappointing her or stopping her.'

As their bundle of energy whilwinded into the room, Emma took a deep breath and resigned herself to acceptance; she never won their disagreements, rarely even trying to unless it was a serious decision.

'Okay Elle, let's take it from the top.'


	9. Date night

**A/N: Hope you all enjoy the update, thank all those who have reviewed, favourited and followed for doing so, you make writing a total joy. The picturehouse I used as inspiration is actually located in my hometown of Liverpool, U.K if any of you are in the area make sure you go to picturehouse cinema just behind Bold Street, it's amazing.**

**P.S does anyone know the film I reference in this chapter, leave a comment if you do or let me know on Tumblr my URL is Lthedreamer. **

Regina shut her car door with a swing of her hip and made her way up onto the front porch of the mansion she shared with her family, fully enjoying the click-clack of her heels on the drive way. As she approached the front door she realised that her hands were completely full and used her elbow to press the bell, hoping that her wife was home.

Within seconds the door swung open to reveal her wife, a bright smile on her face as she reached to grab some of the bags, kissing the brunette on the lips chastely in greeting. As they walked into the kitchen in step, Emma quirked her head towards the bouquet of bright flowers that the Mayor was carrying, nestled into her body, 'Who was stupid enough to buy the Sheriff's wife flowers, do I need to be worried?' Although the words were harsh, the tone was jovial as Emma was very secure in the knowledge that she was all her love needed.

The brunette smirked and quirked her eyebrow in response, setting the flowers and few groceries on the kitchen island as she stepped, gratefully out of her exquisitely high heels, 'Actually these are for you,' she walked the few steps to the blonde, sliding her hands around her partners waist, 'Happy date night my love.' Emma responded by sliding her arms around her wife, tilting the shorter woman's chin up to meet her with a kiss. She was suddenly reminded of how blessed she felt and how lucky she was to finally have all this love in her life. It was actions such as this, bunches of flowers, or love notes snuck into her lunch, when Regina already had so many tasks to complete during the day, which showed her just how deep her wife's love went.

'I've been looking forward to seeing you all day,' Emma whispered, placing another soft kiss upon waiting lips, 'I'm so glad we get an evening to ourselves tonight.' Regina hummed in agreement, taking a moment to study the blonde, squeezing her gently in contentment before pulling away, 'You put the shopping away, I'll quickly get ready and then we can go, the movie starts at 7.'

* * *

25 minutes later Regina descended the stairs slowly, putting her earrings in on the move, she had decided a pair of jet black jeans and a tight red peplum blouse, paired with some heeled ankle boots. Although they were only going to the movies in the next city over and then for some Italian, not exactly fancy, she still liked to make an effort just for her wife as it wasn't too often they had a night purely to be a married couple and enjoy each other's company without sharing it with their children.

Regina paused in the doorway to the den, watching with the same reverent attention that she felt each night as she saw Emma interact with their children, smiling as she heard the laughter that always seemed to fill their home now. The blonde, seemingly able to always sense when her wife was present, call it lesbian telepathy, lifted her gaze to the doorway, her pupils expanding with lust as she let out a low whistle of breath. She shook her shoulders as if to remind herself her children were watching and turned her attention to the two bodies sat on the sofa, one in Disney pjs, the other playing on his playstation.

'So, Henry what time do you need to have your sister asleep for?' Emma asked her son, waiting for him to answer her and pause the game on the screen. '8:30?' The blonde nodded and then frowned, remembering, '8:30 and not 9:30 like last time, got it?' to which both children nodded. She then turned to her daughter and fixed a steady gaze upon her, 'What are we not to do Elle?' She patiently waited for the little girl to respond, 'We don't sneak in to Mommy's closet and play with her clothes and we don't play with her makeup and we most definitely do not eat your chocolate you have hiddended in your bedside table.' The two parents smirked then and Emma nodded, 'good girl, behave for your brother, Grandma Snow said she will ring and check up on you both around 8pm.' Both mothers then placed a kiss on each of their children's heads before walking into the foyer, 'Love you little bugs.' Regina called as she shut the door behind them both, sliding her hand into the waiting one of her wife and squeezing softly. Alone, _finally._

* * *

The couple had decided on a picturehouse known for its intimate and relaxed atmosphere, instead of the usual rows of seats each screen had about 15 sofas spread around the room and low, ambient lighting. Tickets were purchased by the sofa instead of by the individual and the confectionary stand sold wine and popcorn instead of the usual slushes and soda. The women liked this cinema for its ability to make you believe you lived in a different era whilst simultaneously making you feel you were alone in your own living room, they always chose the same sofa in the upper corner for being the most secluded and not directly in the way of the walkway, should any latecomers arrive.

As it was, a Tuesday evening was not the busiest time and the screen was only shared with 4 people all on the one sofa, who they believed to be film students due to what they could overhear of their conversation whilst waiting for the film to begin. They had decided to watch a small budget romcom about a busker and a foreign immigrant in Dublin. Regina chose the film because, loathe should anybody find out, she was a sucker for romcoms and Emma agreed partially because she wanted to please her wife but also because she had heard in passing that the film had an amazing soundtrack.

The two women snuggled closer together on the sofa, Regina slipping her feet under her thighs as she leant into Emma's side who had placed her arm around the brunette's shoulder. The mayor leant up slightly and placed a kiss to the corner of her wife's lips as the film began, whispering a quiet 'Love you,' before turning to face the screen once more.

Before any time was over the final scene began, Regina letting out an audible sob as she saw the grand piano and realised that the guy had truly left the girl, she had believed at the last moment he wouldn't. As the screen went dark she felt strong arms lift her and turn so that she found herself pressed into her wife's neck and upon her lap, those same arms encasing her in a tight embrace as gently lips began to kiss over her tear stained cheeks. 'Hey, why are you crying, it's a happy ending?' Emma whispered between peppering her love with kisses. 'She gets to make music now.'

Regina looked at her in disbelief, wondering why she was not crying also, 'But he's gone, you don't know if they'll ever see each other again but you know they should be together.' Regina waited for her wife to understand, but when the same soft smile lingered on her features she felt her own expression become more confused.

'Darling, that's the whole point, they're meant to be together so they will be one day, they have just got to get to that point in their journey first.' She placed a lingering kiss on her wife's mouth before continuing, 'Look at us, we took our time to get here but we have our happy ending now.'


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: thank you so much for all of your reviews, I just want to address some questions you had:**

**a) A guest review asked whether it would all be plain sailing. This fic is mostly a set of small fluffy installments however this chapter I feel is slightly more angsty. I struggle writing angst so hopefully this goes well, you'll have to let me know. **

**b) For the reviewer who asked for installments on Regina and Emma's first date, wedding etc. Don't worry I will definitely be writing this in the future!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm not sure how frequent I will be able to update now as I start my new job in a few days but I shall try and aim for weekly updates - L**

'Honey, I'm hooooome,' Emma sung as she opened the front door to the mansion, she had moved in with Regina and Henry a week ago and so far the novelty had yet to run out. She made her way into the kitchen, her boots rather loud on the hardwood floor so much so that she made a mental note not to try and sneak up on Regina in the future as any try was likely to be futile. As she rounded the corner into the kitchen she heard her girlfriend call out in greeting, 'I'm just finishing an email, I'll be out in 5 minutes.'

Knowing that she only had mere moments to herself, Emma busied around the kitchen fetching plates and glasses onto which she spooned Chinese takeout and poured red wine. She ran and put her jacket on its hook and kicked her shoes into the cupboard under the stairs before running back into the kitchen to slightly rearrange the bouquet of lilac dyed lilies that she had picked up on her drive home courtesy of Game of Thorns. Taking a sip of her wine she checked her wrist watch, 5 minutes had just passed and as if right on cue she picked out the tell-tale clicking of Regina's heels as she exited her study.

'Is my nose deceiving me or are you actually cooking?' was Regina's sarcastic greeting as she sidled up to her girlfriend, throwing her arms around the blonde, 'Welcome home dear.' As the brunette surveyed the kitchen, her eyebrows wrinkled slightly in confusion as she eyed the flowers, takeout and the little gift bag that was on her kitchen island, 'Am I missing an occasion or something?' she questioned. Emma laughed softly and tilted Regina's lips up to hers for a kiss, 'No occasion, just wanted to do something nice for the woman I love. Do you like the flowers?'

Regina busied her hands spinning the flower arrangement around to inspect from all sides before answering, 'They're lovely, thank you.' At Emma's encouragement she pulled the small gift bag towards her, quite curious as to what was inside. As she opened it she let out a small laugh upon seeing the contents, most people would try to buy the queen jewellery or cosmetics but no, not her Emma, inside was an assortment of British confectionary. Not many people knew that English chocolate was one of her weaknesses, she had a rather large penchant for dairy milk and when it came to Kinder Eggs, well, she was powerless to resist them. 'Well aren't you just perfect.' Regina laughed and pulled the blonde into her arms, placing a kiss to her temple, 'Anyone would think you were up to something Miss Swan.'

It was Emma's turn to laugh at her girlfriend as she passed her her drink and food and motioning for her to make her way to the dining room, 'Always so suspicious Madame Mayor.'

* * *

It was only 2 hours later as she lay reclining in a bubble bath, one which Emma had prepared for her, and sighed as the blonde began massaging her feet which hung over the edge of the tub, that Regina truly realised that her girlfriend was indeed up to something. The Sheriff was always attentive, always affectionate but never to this extreme which meant she either wanted something or had done something she knew Regina wouldn't like.

'Not that I am not enjoying this Em but it'll save a lot of your energy if you just tell me what you've done so that I can fix the mess.' Regina suggested, not bothering to open her eyes as she flicked some water towards where she knew Emma was seated. She had to bite back her laughter at the scoff she heard from her.

'Why do I always have to have done something, I'm just being nice.'

'You're always nice to me but this, this is Snow White nice and it's beginning to make me uneasy.'

Regina opened her eyes at this point to gauge her girlfriends reaction, as much as Emma could always tell when she was lying, Regina had now enough knowledge of her girlfriend's facial actions and diversion tactics to know when she was bending the truth also. Emma's faced screwed up as she frantically thought of a believable excuse for her actions but then noticed Regina's scrutiny, knowing that the brunette had sussed her out, she figured she should just go with the truth.

'I've been thinking, this is pretty serious isn't it?' At the quirk of Regina's eyebrow the blonde continued to speak, 'our relationship, it's going somewhere, we've just moved in together and I feel like we're in this for the long haul, right?'

Regina let out a soft 'Right.' to announce her agreement, before sitting up straighter in the bathtub, 'If it's going to fast Emma just tell me, I don't want you running out on me and Henry because of fear.

'No, no, god no.' The blonde stuttered, Regina getting completely the wrong meaning of what she was trying to say, 'This is where I want to be completely, don't worry, I was just thinking that I would really like you to do something for me.'

'Okay, go on.'

'It would mean a lot to me if you could go and spend some time with my mother, I know you're getting on better with her but still, I think you two should spend some time alone together, get to know each other again.'

The brunette scoffed out loud, assuming this to be a joke, 'Why on earth would I want to do that?' she asked, her tone incredulous.

'Because you love me and so does she.' The blonde grasped Regina's ankle gently before looking at her seriously, 'You're two of the most important people in my life and it really hurts that you won't even consider doing this for me.'

Regina sighed, realising that Emma must've been thinking of this for quite a while now. As much as she still harboured a dislike for Snow, it wasn't the deep burning loathing and hatred that it once was, as reluctant as she was to admit, a lot of that was due to Emma. 'Say I was to spend time with your mother, what could we possibly discuss?'

Emma's posture and expression outwardly brightened at Regina's almost acceptance and she smiled in gratitude, 'You could reminisce.'

This suggestion earned her another sarcastic scoff, 'Hi Snow, remember that time I had your father killed. Oooh and what about the time you caused my lover's death. Good times.' She rolled her eyes at her love before continuing, 'God you're an idiot sometimes.'

At this, Emma abruptly stood and made to leave the room before turning back to the tub, as a second thought. 'Rather an idiot than a total bitch. I love you Regina and I would do almost anything you asked, yet you won't even seriously consider the possibility of lunch with my mother, it's bad enough you help deprive me of a childhood with her.' With that she stormed out of the bathroom, tears in her eyes, leaving Regina alone to regret her actions.

* * *

'I'm sorry.' Regina spoke softly as she sat down next to Emma on the patio steps, her silhouette casting a lonely impression in front of the sunset. 'I shouldn't have said what I did; I hurt others to avoid hurting myself.'

Emma nodded, not turning to look at the brunette, 'I get that, trust me, I run away to avoid my problems. I've told you, I won't run from you but that means you can't lash out at me either, we're meant to be on the same team Regina.'

It was the brunette's turn to nod as she cautiously, still unsure whether Emma would push her away, linked her fingers with the hand the blonde was resting on her thigh, when she wasn't denied she gave a gentle squeeze. 'I'll phone snow in a minute to arrange coffee tomorrow, okay?'

Emma turned to face her now, 'you sure?'

'Positive,' Regina promised, 'It means a lot to you so I promise I will try however hard it is.'

Emma smiled now and lent her body into the brunette's side, 'It'll be easier than you think, you both have a common interest; you both love me.'

Regina laughed then; glad they had manoeuvred through an argument with relative ease. 'For very different reasons though my love. I for one happen to enjoy your delightful cu...'

The brunette received a slight slap on her thigh in response, 'Don't even finish that sentence.'

The mayor then through her head back, laughing loudly, 'Company. I was going to say company, do try and keep your head out of the gutter dear.' She placed a loving, lingering kiss to her girlfriend's lips, a whispered apology of sorts before standing up and turning to the kitchen, it appeared she had a phone call to make.


End file.
